October 25, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

‘Characters’ confusing but compelling, brilliantly acted
by CLARK GROOME

The actors and the stage managers gradually wander into the theater to rehearse their upcoming production. Just as they are about to begin, there is a pounding on the door. After some rather heated words, the stage manager lets six people into the theater. They claim that they are not really people, at least not as we would think of them. They are, rather, characters from a play that the playwright has yet to finish.

They are Six Characters in Search of an Author. They want the theater artists assembled for their rehearsal to give them some resolution to their experiences. As characters, they say, they never change. Their lives are captured by the playwright and remain that way forever.

Every night they relive their experiences ad infinitum. In the case of these six characters, Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello has written a tragedy, gotten some scenes written and then abandoned the effort, leaving his characters in the theatrical equivalent of limbo.

It’s a fascinating concept, dealing as it does with what’s real and what isn’t, what’s art and what’s reality and what it’s like to be trapped forever in a situation of someone else’s creation.

Six Characters is a mainstay of the academic theatrical world, a play that is often studied in academic settings. It is also, because of its wordiness and its often-confusing realities, seldom produced. The folks at People’s Light and Theatre in Malvern are giving the play a fine — it still confusing — production through Nov. 11.

Pirandello’s play has been translated and “freely adapted” by veteran playwright Louis Lippa. Apparently his adaptation is livelier than the original (which I saw 25 years ago and hated). In that he has succeeded. He has also given the characters — who from all evidence available (costumes, a couple of passing references, attitudes) live in the early 20th century — language that seems somewhat more modern than appropriate. That, while appealing in many ways, contributes to the confusion about what’s going on.

The first act is talky, sometimes too much so. The second act is much livelier, if increasingly confusing when the actors who were on hand when the characters crashed their rehearsal begin to play the characters.

Think “Who’s on First” taken to the extreme.

There’s another confusion in the show. While we have tons of exposition about a couple of the characters in Act One, there is really no explanation about why the tragic events of the last scene happen.

The characters are a father, his ex-wife, several kids — a daughter turned hooker, a brooding son and two younger, silent children who turn out to be the play’s tragic figures.

Don’t worry if this isn’t all that clear; it wasn’t all that clear the other night at People’s Light. And while it may sound weird and off-putting, it is actually quite engrossing. First and foremost, director Ken Marini and his very strong cast have staged the piece with skill and an energy that keeps you wondering and even caring about the characters, those searching and those not.

His cast is headed by Peter DeLaurier as the director of the planned production, Stephen Novelli as The Father and Kim Carson as The Daughter, the latter two characters looking for their author. All three gave stunningly powerful and, especially in DeLaurier’s case, funny performances.

In addition to the three principals, marvelous supporting performances come from Ceal Phelan, Marcia Saunders, Cathy Simpson and Melanye Finister.

For all its wordiness early on, the production moves along at a good clip. Maria J. Jurglanis’ appropriate costumes, Dennis Parichy’s intricate lighting, Arthur R. Rotch’s deceptively simple set and Charles T. Brastow’s sound design all add immeasurably to Marini’s strong production.

Six Characters in Search of an Author is not a play to be seen after three martinis or when you’re ready for a nap. You need to pay attention. If  you do, however, you should find the People’s Light production fascinating, thought provoking and, surprisingly, very entertaining.

For tickets to the People’s Light and Theatre production of Six Characters in Search of an Author, playing through November 4, call 610-644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.